It'll be white this Christmas

December 24, 2003|BY KIRSTEN FREDRICKSON NEWS-REVIEW STAFF WRITER

It may not be a winter wonderland fit for a snowmobiler, but at least it will be a white Christmas this year.

According to the National Weather Service office in Gaylord, Northern Michigan residents can expect to see some snow flurries over the holiday … but no one should expect to have to plow themselves to their Christmas dinners.

"There's an upper level system that's going to be moving across the area," said meteorologist Andy Sullivan. "It doesn't look like anything too significant. Just a few snow flurries."

With temperatures hovering in the middle to upper 20s, Petoskey's forecast for Wednesday and Thursday are snow showers, with snow flurries on Christmas Day and a high of 28 degrees.

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Sullivan said that Emmet County has the best chance for snow accumulations of 1-2 inches, along with those areas west of U.S. 131.

"It might whiten the ground in some spots. It'll look Christmasy but it won't help out the snowmobilers," he said.

And the snow that Northern Michigan does get, it should keep.

"There's some colder air moving in right now, so the temperatures should drop a few degrees than what they've been in the last few days," Sullivan said, adding that this will help the snow stick around. "But there's no arctic air on the horizon. It's pretty mild for this time of year."

Of course, if you really want to see the snow, head off to any of the local ski resorts that have been making snow and trying to keep it.

"It's been a bit warm, but we've been able to make snow when it gets cold enough. We've had some good snow making nights," said Ed Grice, general area manager at Boyne Mountain. "We should have almost everything open for Friday. We should be in pretty good shape."

Nub's Nob general manager Jim Bartlett also said business has been good since the resort opened and 36 runs are now open for skiing.

"Although we're not 100 percent open we're pretty darn close. The people who have been skiing have been enjoying it," he said. "My hats off to the snow crew. And we've got some snow coming in right around Christmas. That will be a nice present for us."

But the cross country trails have been another story.

"The cross country is difficult. It is white, but frankly there's about an inch of packed snow up there and that's not much," Bartlett said. "Would I like to see more snow… you bet ya! It doesn't look much like winter here."

These warmer temperatures that have kept ski resorts on their toes when making snow are expected to stick around this winter.

"Generally speaking, the last few days have been above average temperatures," said meteorologist Sullivan. "Pretty much what we've had is what we're going to see."

In fact, most of Michigan is expected to see 33 percent higher temperatures than it did last year, which for Petoskey was an average of 26 degrees for both December and January.

As for snowfall, things are expected to remain the same as in previous years. In 2000, Petoskey residents saw 31.9 inches in December and another 39.5 inches in January. So far this December, Petoskey has seen just 8.6 inches.

So we're either looking at a light winter or there's a lot more snow fall to come … a snowmobiler's dream.

Kirsten Fredrickson can be reached at 439-9398, or kfredrickson@petoskeynews.com.